Through the Night
by Shadowed-Shikyo
Summary: After his warning to Captain Gordon, Casey Wilson of the Gotham Cyber Crimes Division is tasked with finding the man known as Anarky. But this makes her cross paths with none other than Batman. And Casey is pulled into an insane Christmas Eve night filled with assassins, mobsters, prison riots and breakouts, and a new, dangerous criminal known only as the Joker. [Bruce/BatmanxOC]
1. Casey Wilson

**And here I am with yet another story. Another Batman story, specifically. I recently beat Arkham Origins and I loved it so much and I had this story accumulating in the mind for a while. But I didn't want to publish it until I beat the game to prevent plot holes.**

**Needless to say, this story will contain spoilers for Arkham Origins. Readers of **_**Care for a Riddle, **_**don't worry, I haven't abandoned it.**

**Batman does not belong to me. It belongs to DC Comics and Bob Kane. Enjoy!**

**-x-**

_"I've seen your record. Impressive. In a city fill of dirt, you're the only one with a clean jacket."_

_"I need a trace started!"_

_"But despite a clean record, you're still just an instrument of oppression at the beck and call of your corporate masters."_

_"I work for the city of Gotham, not some corporation."_

_"Are you really so naive? The government is owned by corporate America, the city is owned by Bruce Wayne, and the mayor wouldn't wipe his ass without permission from people like Rupert Thorne. You're a cog in the machine, Gordon. And that machine is voracious. That machine must be stopped."_

_"So, you're doing me a favor of some kind?"_

_"That's right. I'm here to help the misguided. Despite your chosen profession, your record suggests you could be reformed. So, a warning: get out, Gordon. Get out while you can."_

_"Hello? Hello? Did we get the trace? Encrypted? Sunova—"_

The recording cut off before Captain James Gordon could get the full swear in.

It had almost been two months since the character called Anarky contacted Captain Gordon. And still, there were no leads on Anarky's whereabouts.

Casey Wilson leaned back in her chair, rubbed her temples, and sighed. She'd listened to the recording so many times she had it memorized. And she was sick of hearing Anarky prattle on about corruption and corporations.

Of course, Anarky's phone call to Captain Gordon wasn't the only thing they had on file. Over the past month, she gathered quite a few video clips of him rallying the young people of Gotham to fight back against Corporate America.

As a senior analyst for the Gotham City Cyber Crime Division someone would think she'd be able to track Anarky down with any of that. But no such luck. Anarky covered all his bases: he kept the phone call short, used a disposable cell phone, and several towers broadcasted the videos and bounced through proxies in different countries, making traces difficult.

Yet she caught a lucky break with one of the video clips and snagged three broadcast signals here in Gotham: the Bowery, Park Row, and Amusement Mile, putting Anarky somewhere in Old Gotham.

But her program was still triangulating Anarky's position by going through each building and individually searching for the signal he used. And that took the most time.

"Where are you, you little bastard?" She sullenly asked the small image of Anarky: a male in a red puffer coat, red hood, and wearing a white mask. As if responding to her, the next video clip in her file began to play:

_"Oppressed citizens of Gotham, your cries for help have been heard! I am Anarky—voice of the people—here to save you from the plague of corruption that now infests this once proud city!"_

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Casey snorted and clicked _pause. _She tugged a hand through her chestnut-brown hair, pulled the elastic band out, and redid her hair back up into a ponytail.

Call her crazy but Anarky's voice sounded _so_ _familiar._ And it had nothing to do with listening to his voice rant about corporate corruption for four weeks straight.

"Any luck finding him?" Someone asked behind her.

Casey jumped in her seat. "Oh my god Ed! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Her boss, the head of the Cyber Crime Division, smirked. "I thought you heard me open the door." He plunked a cup of coffee on her desk. "I figured you might need one, seeing as you'll be here all night."

Edward Nashton was a handsome man close to thirty years old (five years Casey's senior) with neatly combed dark brown hair and pretty green eyes. Casey wouldn't say she felt attraction towards him because he was her boss but she still considered him to be good looking. But he was a good boss (if a little aloof but that might be because he was only made head of the division a few months ago.)

Casey groaned. "Don't remind me. And then I have to drive down to my mother's for Christmas." She hadn't expected being at the Gotham City Police Department on Christmas Eve but since she was closer than ever to finding Anarky, Edward ordered her to work overtime until she had a location.

She picked up the cup of coffee and took a sip and shuddered. The precinct's coffee was cheap as hell and tasted worse. _You'd think they might be able to afford some decent coffee with being on Roman Sionis's payroll._ Casey thought sourly.

With exception of few (namely Captain Gordon and Casey—maybe Edward, she didn't know) everyone in the police department were all paid off by Roman Sionis, the biggest mobster in Gotham. Their Commissioner was deep in his pocket and, as a result, completely untouchable. And Branden, their recently-appointed SWAT leader, was corrupt as they came.

"What're you working on tonight?" Casey drained her cup and tossed it into the trash can.

"A few projects of my own." Edward said and waved some manilla envelopes at her. "So do not disturb me tonight. These projects need my full attention."

"Not even if I find Anarky?" She motioned to her program, still going through each building.

He gave her a look. "What use would it be to me if you found him? Just go tell Gordon or Branden."

"You're my boss." Casey clarified."Maybe I should, I don't know, tell you first if I found a terrorist?"

Edward let out a bark of laughter. "Terrorist? Don't make me laugh. He's just a punk."

"He's bombed several cars outside important buildings like the bank." Casey countered. "I'd consider that terrorism."

"If you say so Casey." He rolled his eyes. "Just get back to work and don't bother me for anything." He walked away, heading to his office sectioned away from the common area.

"Not even if the building catches fire?" She joked.

He didn't answer her but he shut his door with more force than usual.

"Touchy." Casey muttered and went back to her program. It was almost finished with the Bowery. Thank god he wasn't there. She hated the Bowery. Goons hired by the Penguin, the second most powerful mobster after Sionis, infested the place. But Old Gotham was still more dangerous than New Gotham thanks to the increased gun violence in the area.

In fact, Casey was sure there was nothing from stopping anyone from walking in, shooting her in the head, and walking out. She shivered at the thought and glanced around cautiously, making sure she was the only in the room (as everyone else was off for Christmas—except her and Edward.)

Being a member of the police who hadn't gone on Sionis's payroll didn't exactly make her popular. After she refused the initial offer (given to her by a cop) many criminals who walked through the precinct threatened her with bodily harm and the officers turned a blind eye. Two years ago, her cat went missing and a day later, showed back up at her front door horribly mutilated.

To this day, she still got weepy about Snowball whenever she had too much to drink.

After that, it would've been sensible of her to carry a gun but as she worked in cyber crimes, there was no need for her on the field. And she was a terrible shot. She'd shoot herself first before hitting her target. Instead she relied on a good, old-fashioned pocket knife and—when she got the chance to swipe it from the weapons locker—police grade pepper spray.

However since she was only in the cyber crimes division, she wasn't much of a threat to the mob populace of Gotham—unless any of them were trying to do credit card fraud—they left her alone. Which was fine with her; it allowed her to focus on crimes outside the mob.

Just last year—Casey allowed herself a moment of pride—she busted a pedophile for engaging in web-cam sex with a minor. And with his arrest, he led them to a sex-trafficking ring. It was one of the few arrests in Gotham that stuck as neither Sionis nor Penguin dealt in human bodies (that she knew of.)

"Your program seems a little slow." A voice Casey recognized remarked.

"Hey Barb." Casey didn't even turn around, opting just to tilt her head backwards to look at the teen. "It's going through each building in Old Gotham looking for an old signal that's not in use right now. Of course it's going slow."

Barbara Gordon shook her head and smiled. "Did you program it to search for Anarky's specific signal and triangulate it between the three comm towers?"

Casey scoffed. "Of course I did. However, there's a lot of interference on the signal. I was lucky to find it in Old Gotham at all."

"And lemme guess, there's still interference on the signal even as you're searching."

"Yup. But he's not in the Bowery so I can cross that off. Next up is Park Row and then Amusement Mile."

"Sounds exciting." Barb grabbed and chair and sat down next to Casey. "My dad thinks I'm going to spend my night in his office watching TV. Donut? I swiped them from the break room."

"Ooooh, you shouldn't have." Casey accepted a sticky, glazed donut Every Christmas she was determined not to load up on holiday food but two weeks and three pounds later she was back in the gym, sweating her butt off.

She bit into the donut and let out a moan of delight. "Thanks Barb."

The red-head giggled. They met when Casey first joined cyber crimes, three years ago when Barbara was only twelve. Casey recognized Barbara's budding talent in computers (today, it rivaled her own and she was willing to bet in a few years time—Barbara would be better than Casey) and they hit it off. She also had a sneaking suspicion Barbara didn't have many friends—with her dad being a cop and all.

"So why're you here and not at home?" Casey asked as she finished her donut.

"Dad said he had a thing to do at the precinct real quick but then he got called away for something at Blackgate. Something with Julian Day. He told me to wait here until he gets back."

That's right, Casey realized. Julian Day's execution was today. He was the famed Calendar Man who killed several women on different holidays for the past year. He was finally caught by none other than the famous Batman—their new vigilante who did not exist (according to the GCPD.)

"I forgot it was today." Casey said. "I suppose Judge Harkness must have had a sense of humor when he sentenced him."

"Yeah." Barbara said. "But do you think it's right?"

"What's right?"

Barbara looked uncomfortable. "I mean—the Batman caught him and didn't kill him but he had the chance to. He turned him over to the police even though the force is corrupt and there was a guarantee he could walk away with an insanity plea. So why didn't Batman kill him?"

Casey shrugged. "I don't know, Barb. But all the criminals he's sent our way, not one of them had been killed. Broken bones, concussions, and internal damage yes, but no one died."

The official GCPD statement was Batman was a criminal and cops had orders to arrest him on sight. Barbara and Casey shared different sentiments. Barbara was ecstatic that someone was fighting against the corrupt system. Casey was relieved that someone was just fighting back. Crime at night had gone down almost five percent because of the Batman.

Captain Gordon, Barbara's father, was adamant in saying Batman was a criminal. And Commissioner Loeb even assigned him as head of the task force that focused on finding and arresting Batman. As a result, his and Barbara's relationship had become severely strained.

There was a beep on her computer. Casey leaned forward, excited—did she finally locate Anarky? No, it was a news alert, Casey realized dejectedly. She clicked on it.

"_Police and emergency services are urging Gotham residents to stay off the roads and in their homes tonight in light of the severe winter storm warning." _A female voice stated.

"Ugh, it's disgusting out there." Barbara commented. "I don't even know how the police cars can get through."

"Carefully." Casey replied. As a Gotham native, she was used to the harsh winters and terrible driving conditions. She turned to another station to see Commissioner Loeb standing in front of a dozen reporters.

"Oh, this must be the press conference before Day's execution." Casey commented offhandedly. Standing to Loeb's left was Captain Gordon. "Looks like your dad made it okay."

Barbara didn't say anything.

"_We put to rest one of Gotham's most heinous and relentless killers—Julian Gregory Day."_ Loeb was saying.

"_Commissioner Loeb!"_ A reporter held his hand up. _"Any comment on the rumor that it wasn't actually the cops who captured Mr. Day."_

"Bless Vicki Vale." Casey grinned. She and Barbara high-fived. The reporter Vicki Vale snooped around the GCPD for weeks after Day was brought in. And when she was in the next room trying to get evidence of Batman, Casey and Barbara had a stage discussion about Day's _unusual_ apprehension.

"_There is no such thing as a 'bat-man.'"_ Captain Gordon interjected angrily.

Next to Casey, Barbara let out a huff of annoyance. On TV, Loeb and Gordon refused any more questions and hustled into Blackgate.

And there you have it." Casey said and turned the volume down as the TV faded back to the station.

"They could at least give Batman the credit he's due!" Barbara exclaimed.

"Loeb thinks it'll make him look bad. And he doesn't want to be in trouble with Sionis. I heard he's been breathing down his neck ever since Batman showed up." Casey replied.

"I hope Batman gets Loeb next." Barbara said darkly.

"As much as a huge blow that would be to mob, Loeb is pretty much untouchable. Batman would have to go through a lot of people just to get to him." Casey began to count on her fingers. "He'd have to get stuff on a judge just for a proper trial and ruling. He'd have to find evidence that hasn't or won't disappear. And there's the matter of witnesses and who's willing to come forward if they'll be alive by the time the trial happens. Loeb is just too deep right now."

"Dad could help." Barbara started. "I'm sure he's seen what Loeb does firsthand."

Casey shook her head. "I know he realizes how corrupt Loeb is but his hands are tied. If he goes after Loeb, he's going to get a bigger target painted on him."

Barbara was silent. Gordon wasn't popular either. Another cop on the force attacked him before his reassignment to the Batman task force—a move Casey was sure Loeb made so Gordon wouldn't make any trouble and to get Batman out of the way. And Casey knew deep down if Gordon tried to do anything against Loeb, Barbara would be in danger.

But there was another option. Casey shifted in her chair. She hadn't told anybody, not even Barbara because the less people knew, the better. And who knew who was listening in to conversations in the precinct. But for the past year, Casey had been collecting files.

Every night, on her home computer, she'd go through new files uploaded to the GCPD database. Evidence had a habit of vanishing the next day. To counter it, she made copies and saved them to discs. A couple months ago, she noticed the surveillance system was shut down for routine maintenance more often than not and hacked in and discovered Branden's newest ploy with Loeb.

She had enough stuff to put away Loeb, Branden, and even the Penguin. Of course, she never told anyone what she had. If anyone found out, her coworkers would be fishing her out of the bay by morning.

If the balance shifted in the right direction, she could finally come forward and give the evidence to someone who could use it, like Batman.

Just then, Barbara's police radio cackled to life. _"All units, all units, code ten at Blackgate Prison. Communication is down. Possible two-eleven." _A dispatcher spoke.

"_Delta 6-4, en route."_

"The hell?" Casey asked as Barbara turned her radio up. "Who would be robbing Blackgate?" What was there to rob?

"_Dispatch, 5-9. Confirm code ten—is this a break out?"_

"_Suspect identified as Black Mask. Repeat: code ten suspect is Black Mask. All unites at Blackgate. Code six. Code six. Commissioner Loeb is being held captive. Repeat. Commissioner Loeb is seven-oh-one."_

"_WHAT_?" Casey and Barbara cried.

"But we just saw him!" Barbara protested.

"It could've been happening inside the prison as they were having the press conference." Casey jumped on her computer and started typing away furiously. "Let me see if I can't hack into their system."

But everywhere she turned, cameras were either shut off or not responding. "Seriously?" Casey shrieked.

"What's wrong?" Barbara leaned forward. She was tapping on her leg as if typing out code on her own—no doubt itching to help Casey.

"I can't get eyes in Blackgate. It's like something's jamming them."

"Are you sure?"

"Ugh. It's no good." Casey scowled and tried to reroute herself into another system. "Someone's disabled the power."

"Can't you fix it?"

Casey let out a derisive laugh. "To do that, I'd have to manually restart the power there. But let me see if I can't reach your dad's cell phone." She typed a few more times and map of Blackgate popped up on her screen. A red dot beeped in and out. "Well the GPS on his phone still works. Did you try calling him?"

Barbara already had her phone up to her ear. "Voice mail," she said after a minute.

Casey sagged in her seat. "Damn."

-x-

**For those of you who've read **_**Care for a Riddle,**_** this story does take place in the same universe so that means that Lilli exists during this story. However, she won't be appearing as she's still in high school.**

**I read somewhere that Origins takes place five years before Asylum and six before City. I thought that was kind of bogus as a lot has to happen in Gotham for Asylum to take place. They have to establish Dick as Robin and then becoming Nightwing. Tim Drake has to come forward to be the next Robin and who knows if Jason Todd exists here. Then there's Barbara being Batgirl and her subsequent paralysis. I didn't realize Barbara was only fifteen in Origins. Meaning, she's disabled by the time she's twenty years old.**

**Also, there's the question of all the villains coming into Gotham. We've only seen the Joker, Bane, and Penguin, and the beginnings of the Riddler. But Two Face, Poison Ivy, Harley, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze (I know the DLC covers him—have yet to play it,) and so on haven't appeared yet. That is a lot to stuff in in five years.**

**So, I'm tweaking the timeline a bit. In this story, I'm setting Origins seven years before Asylum (eight before City) in order for more time. It probably won't have much affect except for Barbara's age in City. But I thought I should just point it out (and give myself some time to vent.)**

**That's it for chapter one! Reviews, favorites, and follows are love! See ya in chapter two!**


	2. The Riot at Blackgate

**Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows!**

**Now onto chapter two!**

**-x-**

Casey stood in front of Edward's door, chewing on her bottom lip. He did say not to bother him but there was a riot happening at Blackgate. Did that call for a knock on his door? Behind her, she could hear Barbara attempting to call her Dad again and clicking away on her keyboard, no doubt attempting to hack Blackgate again.

"I can't get in!" Barbara cried in frustration.

Casey turned away from Edward's door. She decided to leave him be. If she and Barbara couldn't hack it, then Edward wouldn't be much help either.

"I guess all we can do is wait for new information. I'm sure he's alright." Casey tried to soothe Barbara.

"Yeah." Barbara stared at the screen.

Captain Gordon would be okay. Casey reassured herself. He's survived this long.

-x-

"Where's Black Mask?" The dark figure rasped dangerously to the mobster dangling in his grip.

"How the hell should I know?" The Mobster replied.

"I'm going to make you talk. How much pain you endure before that is in your hands." Batman squeezed his neck harder.

"Screw. You."

"I don't have _time_ for this." Another squeeze.

"Okay, okay." The man wheezed. "He's heading to the execution chamber—with Loeb."

"Smart move." Bataman said and promptly smashed his fist into the man's face, knocking him unconscious.

He stepped over the body and continued on, deeper into Blackgate. Bruce Wayne kept his eye on Black Mask—also known as Roman Sionis to the public eye—waiting for him to make a move and allow Batman to finally catch him as the criminal he was. But he wasn't expecting it to happen on Christmas Eve and in Blackgate Prison no less.

What was Black Mask planning on doing with Loeb in the execution chamber? He thought grimly as he fought another group of prisoners. Batman headed into the next corridor and stopped in his tracks.

Ahead of him, a tall, green, scaly man—he had to be seven-eight feet tall—tossed a man down into the corridor before disappearing through a door. No matter who he was—Batman shook the shock off and prepared to fight another mobster—he was just another opponent.

-x-

"We're safe in here, right?" He heard Vicki Vale say after he dispatched another group.

"We should be." Her camera guy responded.

He barely spared them a glance. They would be safe in that room as long as no one left. What mattered was getting to the execution chamber and stopping Black Mask.

"I can't believe he's real." A reporter said in awe as Batman searched for an opening into the next room.

"Too bad our camera's broke. This would make the report of the century." Vicki said in disbelief.

_This piece of floor is structurally weak._ He discovered after a minute of investigating. He unlatched a pocket on his belt and pulled out his explosive gel. Working quickly, he sprayed a glob of gel on the floor, backed up, and hit the detonator. The result was a controlled explosion breaking the floor. Behind him, the reporters gasped in alarm.

He jumped down and found himself overlooking another corridor behind bullet-proof glass. And there he was. Black Mask. There was no mistaking him: expensive white suit and the iconic black mask that gave him his name: a black mask designed to look like a skull gnashing and baring its teeth.

"They say crime doesn't pay but someone oughtta check the good police commissioner's pockets," Black Mask was saying lazily as the crocodile man slammed a guard on the ground, "'cause they're _lined_ with _my_ money."

One of the escapees pushed Police Commissioner Loeb into the grip of the waiting creature. Loeb looked around desperately.

"And what have I got to show for it?" Black Mask turned to Loeb, clasping his hands. "My own men in the slammer? Not no more. No. _Tonight_, we're making some _changes_." With those words, they pushed Loeb down towards the execution chamber, Black Mask and the crocodile-man following.

_I need to hurry._ Batman thought.

-x-

This place was built like a maze, even more after the large creature tore his way through the halls. Batman was forced to crawl through several vents in order to make his way into the execution chamber. In the room below him, Black Mask's men were starting to release Julian Day from the gas chamber.

He urged himself to hurry. He needed to prevent anything from happening to Loeb and keep Day locked up in Blackgate.

"A part of me wants to just flip that switch." Black Mask said. "But it is Christmas Eve and he _is_ the Calendar Man. And that's just too perfect to ignore."

He landed in the room just outside the chamber, the area where people would watch the execution just as they released Day from the chamber.

"What's this all about, Sionis?" Loeb stammered from his position on the floor. "Haven't I always come through for you?"

The creature picked him up.

"You may have, Gillian." Black Mask drawled. "But things have changed. We're starting with a clean slate and _you're not on it._"

"What are you talking about?" Loeb cried indignantly. "I'm not on it? After all I've done for you?" The henchmen threw him into the gas chamber. "You can't do this! I'm the Police Commissioner, dammitt!"

_No!_ Batman threw himself at the glass, attempting break it. It didn't even budge.He had to get in there!

Gas filled the chamber as Loeb feebly pounded on the door.

"Show's over boys." Black Mask turned his back on his old ally as the crocodile-man slammed another man into the glass, cracking it.

As the door closed, Batman didn't waste a second. He crashed through the cracked glass and made his way over to the chamber. But, Commissioner Loeb lay still inside—not moving.

_I'm too late._ Batman thought. He clenched his fists in anger. _Black Mask has a lot to answer for._

-x-

He arrived at the top too late, Black Mask was already gone. However, the creature remained behind. Though he was the first opponent to be bigger and stronger than him, his attack pattern was animalistic and easy to predict.

Batman delivered a swift kick to the creature's chin and somersaulted back off him. He staggered back and fell into a hunk of fence, got caught on it, and hung precariously over the edge of the cliff.

Without hesitating, Batman leapt up on his chest and delivered a punch to his face. "Your boss. Where's he going?" He roared angrily.

"The only boss a'me is me!" The creature snarled back.

He punched him again. "You want teeth. I want answers." Another punch.

The crocodile man snarled again but he glanced over his shoulder at the raging and rocky waters below him. He turned back. "Wait 'till Black Mask's assassins get through with you."

"What assassins?" Another punch.

He didn't answer but laughed. "Whoever wins is gonna be famous and rich!"

That did it. He punched him in the face one last time. The crocodile man visibly slumped. He was out cold.

Batman picked the man's foot up and dragged him back onto solid ground, the fence falling away into the water. He didn't obtain any information on Black Mask's whereabouts but he'd gained some new, interesting information.

"FREEZE!"

Bright lights shined down on him. He dropped the foot and lifted his arm to shield his eyes. But he could still make out the cops pointing their guns at him. In the middle stood Captain Jim Gordon, the only good cop left in the city.

As he dropped his arm, he pressed a button in his arm—calling the Batwing to his location.

"I'm taking you in!" Gordon shouted over the wind.

_Unlikely._ Batman could have snorted. He had too much to do to deal with nuances like the police. He backed towards the edge. "Not tonight." And he fell backwards, his cape fanning out to guide him down into the cockpit of the Batwing.

-x-

"Barbara, I've got something!" Casey cried after nearly an hour.

"Is it Dad?" Barbara raced over to Casey's desk (she had been pacing the length of the room for the past half-hour.

"No. But Blackgate's system is slowly coming online. I'm hacking it now. Let's see if I can find Captain Gordon." The few images she received were fuzzy but as they cleared, Casey's mouth dropped open.

"How in the hell did that happen?" She floundered for words. Walls were torn apart and bars were bent. That didn't look like the work of explosives. That looked like someone tore them apart.

"Can you see my dad anywhere?"

"I don't see him. Let me switch cameras." She clicked to another camera. Nothing except bodies. She grimaced.

"I'm going to call him again." Barbara declared and pulled out her phone.

"Good idea."

-x-

James Gordon could hardly believe his eyes. Were they really arresting a man who looked like a walking, talking crocodile? Did they even had the space in the holding cells for him?

"I've never seen anything like it." His partner, Harvey Bullock, whistled when they saw how large the man was.

"Neither have I." Gordon replied gruffly. Inside, he was miffed that Batman had escaped their custody. To top it off, he was sure Vicki Vale saw him but even worse, Commissioner Loeb was dead. Gassed in the gas chamber set up for Julian Day who had also escaped.

Today was not his day. "Find somewhere to put him." Gordon snapped at Bullock.

Inside his coat pocket, his phone buzzed. He pulled it out and checked the I.d.: Barbara. No doubt she'd heard about the radio through the police radio.

"Barbara." He answered.

"_Dad!"_ She cried in relief on the other end. _"I tried calling you earlier but you wouldn't pick up."_

"Communication was down in the prison." He replied. "I'm sorry Barbara."

"_I'm glad you're alright. What happened?"_

"There was a riot." Gordon answered. He didn't want to give too much away to his daughter. Especially the knowledge of Batman's presence. All that would do is spark another fight between them.

"_Obviously."_ A third voice joined them and Gordon did all he could to repress a sigh. Casey Wilson. An over-enthusiastic analyst from the Cyber Crime Division. Her skill with computers was what made her and Barbara friends. Not that he minded but Casey shared the same sentiments about Batman that Barbara had.

But Casey was a good person at heart. She, like him, wasn't on Sionis's payroll and seemed extremely eager to do good in Gotham when she first came to the GCPD. But her enthusiasm for justice waned as death threats started rolling in from both criminals and men on the force. Now, she kept her head down and focused on crimes unrelated to the mob.

As much as he didn't want to admit, it was a good thing she did. Had she kept that attitude up for longer, she'd be found dead in an alleyway or someplace.

"Casey." Gordon greeted. "I trust you've been keeping an eye on Barbara."

"_Of course!"_ Casey said in a chipper tone. _"But we were worried when we couldn't get a hold of you. And—oh my GOD! Is that Commissioner Loeb?"_

"_Where?"_ Barbara asked and then he heard her gasp.

"He's dead." Gordon said wearily. "And how do you two know this? There's no way any of the reporters would have seen—" It clicked in his brain. "Casey, did you hack the network?"

"_I was trying to find you."_ Casey said quickly. _"See if you were alright. And holy crap, what happened?"_

"I can't tell you two that." Gordon said and ducked into a spare room.

"_Yes you can."_ Barbara chimed in. _"This is a secure line. Casey and I made sure of that."_

Gordon didn't hide his groan. Of course. "I can't tell you two. But Barbara, I want you stay in the precinct tonight. And Casey, I know Nashton assigned Anarky to you but if you find his location you send it directly to me or Branden. Understood?"

"_Roger."_ Casey replied.

"I'll be back at the precinct as soon as I can. Something's going on tonight."

-x-

The Batwing burst through the waterfall protecting the Batcave from the outside world. Batman landed and promptly exited. His mind was in a whirl. Black Mask killed Commissioner Loeb, one of his most important allies in Gotham, and now there was talk of assassins coming for him.

He strode towards the Batcomputer and took off his cowl, allowing himself to become Bruce Wayne for a short time. At the ready his butler, Alfred, stood waiting for him.

As usual, he stood in a lax position, his arms clasped behind his back. "Are you back for the night, sir?" Alfred asked. "Shall I warm up Christmas dinner?"

Bruce shook his head. "No. It's going to be a long night, Alfred. I just ran into a," he paused for a moment, resisting the urge to laugh at the absurdity of it, "a human-shaped crocodile who told me Black Mask has hired assassins to kill me."

"Sounds rather dangerous—trusting the word of a human-shaped crocodile." Alfred spoke as Bruce approached the Batcomputer.

"I believe him." Bruce said as he inserted the memory card he picked up from the drone at the prison into the computer. "And hopefully this will make everything clear about these assassins."

"Assassins, sir? As in, more than than one?"

"That's right."

"And just to clarify again, you heard this from the mouth of a crocodile man?"

As if in answer, the files on the mystery assailant appeared on screen. "His name is Killer Croc." Bruce read. "And he's already behind bars."

"I pity his cell mate."

"I _don't._" Bruce growled.

"Let's see what else is on the drone's hard drive." Bruce pressed a few more buttons, leading to more images and videos.

He played the first one: a video of Black Mask handing out envelopes to his men. "I need them delivered tonight!" Black Mask ordered as he handed them out.

Bruce turned to the profiles. "They're all hired killers. The best in the business." He recognized some of them. "Black Mask isn't messing around." Black Mask wanted him _dead._

The first image was of a man in black and orange body armor. His helmet was divided vertically with the two colors but only his left eye was visible. "Slade Wilson... Deathstroke. Former military, subject of a failed medical experiment."

"Failed, you say?"

Bruce didn't answer but moved onto the next assassin, a man covered in a mechanical suit from head to toe and wearing a jetpack. "Garfield Lynns, AKA Firefly. Burns on ninety percent of his body. Hmm... his obsession is going to be his end."

"How _unlike_ anyone I know." Alfred droned, his eyes drilling holes into the back of Bruce's head.

Bruce ignored him.

The next person puzzled him. "I don't recognize this one. Copperhead." He scanned the list of names and reports. "Strange. These reports reference a male, not a female." The person in the photo was obviously a woman with Central American gang tattoos on her chest."Says here, she's a master escape artist."

But the next one he knew, the face mask and scope on his right eye gave him away. "Floyd Lawton. AKA Deadshot. Says here he's an expert sharpshooter. Suspected of many assassinations. Dangerous—but reckless."

The next person was a man with scaring on the left side of his face. "Street tough named Lester Buchinsky. Calls himself 'Electrocutioner.'"

Next up was another female—an Asian woman wearing ninja-garb. "Shiva. Her skill is unmatched."

But the last one. Brude did a double take when he saw the name. But there was no doubt: the large figure and face mask. "Bane. Here—in Gotham? Why would he be taking money as a hired killer?"

He didn't have time to ponder his question as he clicked on another video. This one showed Warden Joseph of Blackgate before Black Mask.

"Is that Warden Joseph?" Alfred asked curiously.

Bruce nodded. "Must be how Black Mask got inside Blackgate Prison." He didn't flinch as Black Mask stuck a lit cigarette in the Warden's left eye. "He uses torture for intimidation and entertainment."

"Eight assassins after your head. What are you going to do?" Bruce could hear some worry in Alfred's voice but he ignored it.

"I'm going to find out who was operating this drone and make them tell me what they know." He said and steeled himself. "Then I'm going to find Black Mask and _put an end to this._"

He exited the program, preparing himself for a long night of fights against criminals.

Alfred, it seemed, had other ideas. "Sir," he started, "I may be stating the obvious here but you do realize that since you and I are the only people who know the Batman's true identity, those assassins will all fail their mandate if you'd just spend the evening here."

Bruce glanced at his butler. The older man was obviously worried though trying his best to hide it. But Bruce wouldn't even consider Alfred's suggestion. "They'll put innocents in danger to attract my attention. I can't take that risk."

But Alfred wasn't going down without a fight. "And you think it's a better idea to just put yourself in their crosshairs?"

Bruce didn't answer. His mind was already made up.

The image of the drone he saw from earlier popped up on the screen. "There's only one person in Gotham who can get his hands on something like this." He said, more to himself than Alfred. "The Penguin. He's been tracking Black Mask."

Oswald Cobblepot, otherwise known as the Penguin, was Black Mask's number one rival in the underworld. It made sense for Cobblepot to keep notes on Black Mask's activities.

He checked the GPS log for the drone. The next waypoint was a rendezvous with Penguins men in Jezebel Plaza. That was where he would head first.

He put the cowl back on, becoming Batman once again.

-x-

**And that concludes chapter two!**

**Writing alongside an established plotline is one of my weaknesses as I tend to hurry it along and leave out detail. What're you guys thinking so far? Is it too vague or just right since you've probably played the game and know what everyone looks like and such.**

**Reviews, favorites, and follows are love! See ya in chapter three where Casey and Batman finally meet!**


	3. Anarky

The moment Gordon arrived back at the precinct, he whisked Barbara back to his office, leaving Casey alone at her desk.

She pulled her program back up. It was still going through Park Row. She sighed and returned to the cameras at Black Gate. She did her best to bring most of the them back online but she could only do so much wirelessly. Someone had to repair them on site.

"Whoa." Casey whispered after a moment of going through cameras. The guards were leading a tall man covered in green scales down the cell block. "What the hell is that?"

"Casey."

Casey yelped and jumped. Gordon returned. He stood there, arms crossed.

"Hi Captain." She tried to smile innocently while exiting the feed.

He looked at her sternly. "You know you aren't supposed to hack into other systems without approval."

"I know but Barbara was worried! And look on the bright side, I gave the guys over there a head start on repairing their system." She said cheerfully.

He shook his head and sighed. "I understand why you did it but if you've got to understand that you can't do these things all the time."

"Are you going to arrest me?" She raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

"No, Casey. I'm not going to arrest you. Just watch yourself. If other people find out about you regularly hacking places, they might suspect you've been sticking your noses in places you shouldn't be."

Casey flashed back to the pile of discs hidden under her bed back in her apartment. "I know." She whispered.

"Just be careful. Barbara's really attached to you and I don't want to see her lose a friend." He finished.

"I always am." Casey smiled.

"Good. How close are you to finding Anarky? I've been meaning to touch base with you even though I'm supposed to focus all my efforts on finding Batman." He leaned down to look at the scan.

"Well, I've traced him to Old Gotham. Unfortunately, the signal cut out before I could trace it further," she explained. "So, I designed this program to look for anything like the signal Anarky used. It's been slow because there's so many buildings in Old Gotham and the weather's been interfering. But this is still our best lead."

"I'm impressed." He said.

Casey grinned. "I should have him by no later than tomorrow. Maybe sooner."

"That's great."

"There you are Gordon."

Both Gordon and Casey stiffened after hearing the voice of the newcomer. They both turned to see Howard Brenden, the leader of SWAT and arguably the second most powerful man on the force. Or was he the most powerful now that Loeb was dead? Casey repressed a shudder, she didn't want to think of a GCPD with Branden as Commissioner. She and Gordon wouldn't last long.

"Branden." Gordon straightened. "I was just discussing the Anarky case with Wilson here."

Branden didn't spare her a glance. "SWAT will handle the Anarky case. Not those on the Vigilante Task Force who aren't even capable of catching a single vigilante."

Gordon clenched his fist behind his back. Casey looked between the two men. "I'm just making sure that we'll catch at least one person tonight."

"Of course." Branden sneered.

"I've almost found him." Casey piped up. "Will your men be prepared to go tonight?"

"We're always prepared." He looked at her coldly. "C'mon, Gordon. I want to hear all about your failure at Blackgate." Branden stalked from the room.

Gordon coughed. "Keep on it Casey. And don't leave the precinct by yourself."

"Of course. I'm finding him, reporting him, and then hopefully be on my way home."

"I hope so."

Gordon left and Casey turned back to her program. She considered starting a game of solitaire when her video feed started up again. At first, she thought it was the same recording she had already saved because it started the same.

"_Oppressed citizens of Gotham, your cries for help have been heard! I am Anarky—voice of the people—here to save you from the plague of corruption that now infests this once proud city! Those fired and elected to keep us free and safe—"_

Casey shot straight up and stared at the video. She did _not_ have that saved. This was a new video, streaming live right now!

She leapt into action. She pulled her program up and started triangulating between the three comm towers. "I'm going to find you, you chatty bastard."

_Searching... _Her computer read. "Search faster." She hissed and glanced at the feed.

"_If they don't act, I will."_ Anarky was saying.

She had to hurry. Most of Anarky's videos were less than two minutes long. Normal traces took a lot longer than that. "Come on." She started pleading. Her trace moved from Amusement Mile to Park Row. She was _so_ close, she could feel it.

"_Now back to your regularly scheduled programming of propaganda and consumerist garbage."_ The feed cut.

_No._ She had been _so close_! Casey fell back in her chair and let out a loud groan of frustration and anger. She had one chance and she blew it! Who knew when the next time Anarky would air another video? And what did he mean by destroying sources of Gotham's ruin in the video? What if he hurt more people and she would be unable to stop him because she couldn't find him in time? Her eyes became teary and her throat closed. She had _one_ job and she screwed up.

_Beep. __Beep._

Casey looked up at the screen. Her mouth dropped open. She leaned in closer and read: _Trace completed._ A red dot hovered over the old Solomon Wayne Courthouse in Park Row.

"No way." She _found_ him.

"YES!" She shrieked and pumped her arm in the air. "Oh, Casey for the win!"

In the completely empty room, she jumped up and did a victory dance which was just a cross between awkward arm flailing and leg kicks. "I'm the best!"

She sat back down in her chair and plucked up the desk phone. And dialed in Gordon's extension. "Come on Gordon." She muttered as it rang. It ended up going to his voice mail. Where was he? Did he leave the precinct?

She frowned and walked into the bullpen. "Do you know where Captain Gordon is?" She asked one of the officers seated at their desk.

The man didn't look up. "He went to check out a lead on a murder in the Diamond District. Someone sent an anonymous tip in."

"Thanks." Casey said begrudgingly and went back to her desk.

With Gordon in the field, she was left with one other person to call. And he was the absolute last person she ever wanted to call. But she had no other choice. Especially if Anarky made good on his promise to destroy places in Gotham.

She dialed the number and winced.

"Branden." The voice was short and clipped.

"Branden. It's Wilson in Cyber Crimes. I'm calling to let you know I have a location on the criminal known as Anarky. He's in the Solomon Wayne Courthouse in Park Row."

"And?" He replied coolly.

A cold feeling descended over her and she swallowed heavily. "I just got another fresh feed from him, sir." She said. "Anarky stated he's going to destroy places in Gotham tonight. In my personal opinion, that makes him a threat."

There was a brief moment of silence. "Alright, Wilson." Branden said at last. "We'll meet you in the field."

Casey froze. "W-what?" She squeaked. She coughed and said again, "what?"

"I want you in the field." He repeated.

"But I don't have training for the field!" She argued. "I don't even have a gun."

"So?" He replied.

Her mouth went dry. "But I—"

"Wilson, no arguing. SWAT will meet you at the courthouse for diagnostics."

Before she could say anything else, he hung up. Casey's mouth hung open. Diagnostics? Really? He couldn't have thought of something that was less bullshit-sounding?

Now she found herself in a dilemma. Did she follow Branden's orders and leave or stay and suffer his wrath? She knew Branden didn't like her but she never thought he would actually try to throw her in harm's way.

Even if Anarky or his followers killed her, the weather would. Snow still fell down constantly and the roads would be slick.

"Okay." She made up her mind. She opened her desk drawer and pulled out her phone and bag. If she wanted to stay on Branden's relatively good side, she had no choice but to head out. She put her black pea coat on and buttoned up.

Her plan was to go out there, meet Branden, and stay out the way. SWAT was armed to the teeth with the latest gear (illegally obtained, Casey guessed. There was no way Loeb could fund them like that legally.) She'll go with Branden's scare tactic. There's no way he'd do something drastic... Right?

"If Captain Gordon comes back," Casey said to the desk worker as she left the bullpen, jamming her beanie hat (gray with an owl face on the front—complete with little owl ear tufts on the top—a birthday gift from Barbara) on her head as she went, "tell him I'm at the old courthouse with Branden. We're following a lead on Anarky."

He looked at her, puzzled, and Casey shrugged her shoulders. "I will." He said. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Casey mumbled. She slung her bag over her shoulder and exited the GCPD.

She entered the parking ramps, walking quickly to her bright yellow car. Yellow wasn't the best idea as a color for a car but her mother bought it for her when she graduated college. It was her favorite color but it was too easy to pick out.

For the past three years, she'd dealt with busted headlights and slashed tires. Last year, she had to get it repainted because someone keyed it. That was fun.

She unlocked the car and slid in. _Let's do this._

-x-

At close to 10:30, she pulled into a parking lot a couple streets over from the courthouse. She didn't see any SWAT members on her way over but she wasn't exactly looking around while driving there. She focused on the road and only the road. They were horrid and more than once, she skidded around corners.

By the time she crossed over the Pioneer's Bridge, she regretted leaving the precinct more than ever.

She exited the lot and set off towards the courthouse, keeping an eye out for Branden or any member of SWAT. She had to be right, he was in there somewhere.

The Solomon Wayne Courthouse was abandoned in favor of a new, larger courthouse down in the Diamond district where Loeb had better control. After all, who'd want to travel all the way into Old Gotham for a trial?

But it still looked well-kept on the outside, she noted as she peered at it from around the corner. There were people milling around the steps wearing white masks—they had to be Anarky followers. She looked around again, where was Branden?

She looked down the street for any sign of SWAT but saw nothing. The bad feeling she had earlier started to return. This wasn't good.

She checked the group of men on the courthouse steps. None of them seemed to be looking her direction and she took the opportunity to dash across the street into another alleyway. Branden could be waiting somewhere else, she thought hopefully.

The alleyway was large and seemed to lead to the back of the courthouse (where Casey hoped there were no Anarky goons and where Branden could be) but a large gate spanned the entrance, blocking her way.

There were two options, continue to wait here for Branden or climb over the fence and look for him. The obvious answer was to wait where she was now but against common sense, she jumped up and grabbed the top of the gate.

She had never been the most athletic person having spent most of her teenage and adult life sitting in front of a computer screen. She struggled to pull herself up and flailed her legs, trying to get leverage. Finally, she manged to hook a leg over the side and ungracefully fell over the side of the fence. She let out a loud shriek in pain and surprise when she painfully hit the concrete. She brought a gloved hand to her mouth as if it would take the noise back.

Casey scrambled to her feet and retreated further into the alley but no one came to investigate. With a sigh of relief, she turned around and found herself in an open space between buildings. There were stairs leading to upwards to a walkway bordering the water and to her right, she saw the courtyard outside the courthouse... blocked by another gate.

Her back throbbed at the sight. But there was no other way around, the walkway led away from the courthouse, unless Casey wanted to chance climbing the buildings. But, she eyed the window sills on the building in front of her, the snow still came down and made everything slick. One wrong move and she'd fall down and break her neck.

_Climbing over the second fence it is, then._ Casey jumped up and grabbed hold of the top of the fence and worked on getting to the other side. This time, she was ready when she fell to the ground. She braced herself as she hit the concrete, thankful for the snow to brace her fall, and only a grunt escaped her.

She carefully picked herself up and brushed the snow off her coat. But when she looked up, she stopped. There was another gate in front of her. In fact, she was standing in a gated courtyard next to the courthouse. And beyond that, she could make out figures standing behind the courthouse and none of them looked like SWAT members.

Casey's heart sank. She went through all that trouble for nothing. She turned, preparing for another struggle climbing over the gate when, "hey, you!"

Someone spotted her. A few men from the group in the back broke off and headed for the gate. Casey wildly turned back hoping to clamber over the gate again but there was a screeching noise behind her.

It had never occurred to her that the gates could _open_. As the men came closer, Casey's heart sank deeper and deeper until it settled in her stomach. From here, she could easily see the white masks and red anarchy symbols on their clothes.

Hesitantly, she held her hands up in surrender.

"Who're you?" The one closest to her demanded.

Was it better to answer or remain silent? Casey chose the latter, keeping her mouth firmly shut.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" He said angrily. And in the next moment, he waved a knife in her face. "I'll cut you." He threatened.

She jumped at the sight. "I—I got got lost." Casey said wildly, trying to think up an excuse. "I took a wrong turn."

Even to her, that sounded stupid. And one of the others thought so too. He snorted loudly. "And what, you hopped the fence as a wrong turn?"

A third spoke up. "Why don't we take her in to see the boss? He'll know what to do with her."

"What for? We could just kill her and dump her over the edge into the water." The first retorted and Casey trembled at his words.

"Anarky said we shouldn't spill innocent blood!" The third argued. "We bring her in to see him and he can determine if she's innocent or not."

The first was silent but then he nodded. "Fine. Let's go." He brandished the knife again. "Walk forward and no funny business. Do you have weapons on you?"

Casey shook her head. _You are so stupid, Casey._ She thought to herself as one patted her down. He lingered on her bottom a bit too longer than she liked and let out a squeak of discomfort. "Nothing." He reported and grasped her arm and escorted her inside. _So, so stupid._

The inside of the courthouse was a mess. There was graffiti on the walls, and broken chairs and garbage piled in corners. And even a bench with discarded pillows on it. Someone had been living here.

"Inside." The one holding her arm said gruffly and threw the doors open.

She was standing in the middle of the courthouse (while the outside looked well-cared for, the inside was more of a mess with all the graffiti and missing floor pieces,) surrounded by more Anarky goons.

"Well, well, well." Someone said above her and she looked up to see the man she had been tasked with finding: _Anarky_.

_Well, I found him._ Casey thought grimly. _Just not in the way I had hoped._

"I was expecting someone else but this is a bit of a surprise." Anarky said and looked down at her.

"We found her sneaking around in the courtyard." One said.

"So you did. Go back outside and keep guard. I'll deal with this one."

Three men broke off and headed back out the door. Casey took the moment to look for an escape and, unless she was willing to dive through one of the windows, found none.

"So, you found me. I knew it would be a matter of time before the GCPD found their way to my base. I had hoped the police would be out of my way by now but something prevented that from happening." Anarky shook his head. "But the GCPD sent only a lowly analyst with no gun? How arrogant of them."

In that moment, Casey understood. Branden never meant to meet her out here. He never intended to come. He sent her here, hoping that she'd meet an untimely end.

"Backup is on their way here." She lied. "You managed to evade the police but we found you in the end. Your terrorism is going to stop."

Anarky laughed. "A little melodramatic but you've always had a taste for being a little over the top, Casey."

Casey was stunned. He knew her name?

"I will admit, I was slightly disappointed when you decided to use your talent in computers for the GCPD. Out of everything you could have done, you sold yourself to the most corrupt police force in the country. I expected better from you."

And then it clicked. She knew why he sounded familiar.

"_Lonnie_?" She asked, stunned. "Lonnie Machin?"

Though he was a couple grades below her, Lonnie Machin worked in the tech department at Gotham High with her during her senior year. He was a scraggly kid who never shut up about his stupid overseas pen-pal. But he was good with computers and they let him help out in IT.

"Took you long enough, Casey. At first, I was worried when I heard they assigned you to find me but I guess I never made much of an impression on you, did I?"

Nope, Casey recalled. At most, they spoke briefly but the most she said to him was "Shut up, Lonnie."

"Oh well, it's not like you have long to live anyway. After all, Gotham must be wiped clean of corruption—"

The door behind her swung open again and Anarky stopped speaking at once. "Ah!" He said fondly at the newcomer. "I'm so glad you came."

Casey turned around and her mouth dropped open.

_It was him_. Standing there, wearing black armor, a mask, and a black cape was none other than _Batman._ She knew he existed from the reports at the precinct but this was her first time seeing him in the flesh. She could hardly believe it.

"It's an honor, really," Anarky was saying. "There's so much for us to discuss."

"What do you want?" The Batman's voice was deeper than Casey expected, and rugged too. He didn't spare anyone a glance, he just looked—glared really—at Anarky. Casey took that opportunity to edge away. If a fight ensued, she didn't want to be in the middle of it.

"I'd like to propose an alliance. I think the two of us could accomplish great things together." Anarky said smoothly.

"I don't work with criminals." At this, the men surrounded Batman gripped their weapons threateningly. "You need to turn yourself in."

Anarky crossed his arms and scoffed. "Tell you what, I'll turn myself in as soon as you do the same. But you don't consider yourself a criminal, do you? The suit. The gadgets. The sense of _entitlement._ You're just another rich kid atoning for his fiscal sins." He motioned to the men surrounded Batman. "Such a shame."

The one closest swung a lead pipe at Batman's head and without even looking it caught it mid-swing, and landed a series of punches and blows to the man.

Casey sprinted over to the farthest corner away from the fight, to stay out of the way, but her eyes never left Batman's form. He made fighting look so easy. He seemed to be one step ahead of the mob attacking him. Every punch was countered, pipes were yanked out of their hands and broken, and once or twice, Casey heard the _crack_ of bones being broken.

As the last man was taken down with a broken leg and left to moan in pain of the floor, he turned back to Anarky. "It's over." He said calmly.

"Not quite!" More men jumped down and Anarky joined them, holding a stun stick aloft.

If she'd been Anarky and watched Batman wipe the floor with her men, she'd be out the door running. She winced a couple more times as he moved around the room, fighting effortlessly—none of them seemed able to touch him. Whenever Anarky came close, swinging his electric baton, Batman would jump over him and kick him down.

Finally, after all the goons were taken out, Batman landed one last hit on Anarky. He crumbled to the ground and Batman approached, kicking the baton out of his reach. He grabbed Anarky by the collar and pulled his mask off. "You're just a kid." Batman sounded off-put as he let go.

"So?" Anarky snarled. "What does it matter? I wanted to make a difference. I thought you'd feel the same."

"I do." Batman's voice was steely. "But not like this. A lot of innocent people almost died tonight because of you."

"Innocent?" Anarky yelled, enraged. "They watched as Gotham went to hell and didn't do a thing."

Didn't do a thing? Most of them couldn't do a thing. Not with people like Black Mask and Branden keeping everyone afraid with their cruelty and power.

Batman, as if sensing Casey's thoughts, said, "They're just afraid."

"No! They're weak! And so're you!"

Batman seemed to decide their conversation was over. He grabbed Anarky and when he let go, his wrists were tied together. "The GCPD will come get you shortly." He informed Anarky. Anarky didn't reply.

Casey decided now would be the best time to move. She stood up, brushing dust off her coat. But she almost froze when Batman turned to her. "Uh, hi!" She squeaked and nervously smiled. But the smile quickly slide of her face as Batman just looked at her impassively.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her.

"Uh well," she rubbed her back of her head nervously. "I'm Casey Wilson, I'm with the GCPD. Branden told me he'd be here and as you can see," she gestured to the room, "he's not."

"Next time you have the opportunity to catch someone, radio Captain Gordon." He informed her.

"I tried but he was off doing something else and I couldn't get a hold of him."She tried smiling but it seem to freeze on her face.

He was so intimidating, standing there in his black suit. If she was a criminal and saw something like him come for her in the night, she'd wet herself, cry, and pass out.

On the floor, Anarky snorted. "Captain Gordon. I gave him a chance to get out but he'd rather sell his services to corrupt bureaucrats. This city disgusts me."

"Oh my god, _shut up Lonnie_!" Casey snapped.

Batman ignored them both and headed for the back door, no doubt going to find more crime-doers.

"Wait!" Casey called, chasing after him. But when he turned to her, she stopped. _He has pretty eyes_, she thought. They were light blue that were piercing thanks to the black cowl.

"Uh..." She fumbled around for words. "Thank you." She finally blurted. "We've been trying to get him for months. And..." she flushed, "no matter what my bosses say about you, I think you're really what Gotham needs."

Batman didn't say anything but he merely nodded and left.

On the floor, Anarky sniggered. "Oh yeah, a man like him is exactly what Gotham needs. He'll just lock up the criminals and wait for them to escape again so he can go after them. He's won't do what's necessary to end the crime in Gotham. He's weak."

"Shut up, Lonnie!"

-x-

Batman didn't waste any time getting back into the Batwing and heading off for Lacey Towers in the Coventry District. He open the communication channel between him and Alfred. "Send an anonymous tip to the GCPD about Anarky's capture." He told Alfred.

"_At once, sir."_

"And do one more thing for me. Find all the information you can about one Casey Wilson in the GCPD."

"_May I ask why, sir?"_

"She was in the courthouse with Anarky."

"_And you're trying to see where she falls in the way of justice?"_ Alfred asked. _"Ah, here we go. Casey Rebecca Wilson. She is a senior analyst in the Cyber Crime Division in the GCPD. And it seems she was tasked with tracking down Anarky two months ago. That might explain why she was there."_

"Anything else?"

"_No, it seems her record is clean. I believe she followed Captain Gordon's stance against corruption in the force. She's not very popular amongst her peers. I have notes of various death threats made against her. And there was even one incident with a cat... oh dear. That's repulsive."_

"What?"

"_Someone stole her cat and returned it to her with its innards strewn all over her front door."_

Any suspicions Batman had of her being with the mob dissipated with that last comment. She was honestly trying to do her job. And besides, no one affiliated with the mob would ever go outside wearing that ridiculous owl-shaped hat.

"Thanks Alfred. That's all I need." He was approaching Lacey Towers now. The murder there, needed his attention.

-x-

The moment Anarky was led out of the courthouse and into a police cruiser, Gordon turned his full I-can't-believe-you-did-this-I'm-so-disappointed-in-you-explain-yourself-_now_ face on her.

Casey took a precuation step back. "I can totally explain." She blurted.

"I managed to track Anarky down and I tried to reach you but I couldn't get through so I had no choice but to call Brandon because it sounded like Anarky was going to do something really bad and Brandon told me he'd meet me in the field and he wanted me out there," she babbled, "so I decided I would meet him out in an alley."

"But I made absolutely sure to tell someone where I went in case you came back because I was suspicious of Branden. And Brandon wasn't outside when I got here so I tried to find him but Anarkey's guys found me instead and brought me inside and then I realized why he was so familiar because he went to the same high school as me, though a couple grades younger. His name's Lonnie Machin, by the way. But Batman came and beat everyone up and I _saw_ him. He's real, Gordon! He made real short work of everyone in there, you should have seen him! It was like something out of a kung-fu movie and—"

"That's enough Casey." Gordon held his hands up. "I figured Brandon was behind this when I got the call from you. I'm disappointed that you listened to him and came out here, you could've gotten yourself killed. But, you found Anarky and helped bring him in without killing yourself."

He led her out of the courthouse and over to his own police cruiser.

"My car's over there." Casey feebly pointed down the street.

"We'll get it when this storm's over. It's probably halfway buried by now." Gordon replied. "And I don't want you driving in this."

"I made it over here, didn't I?" Casey said, indignant. She didn't tell him she almost died a couple times.

"Yeah and the roads are getting more slippery and dangerous by the hour. I'm taking you back to the station so you can file a report and then I'm taking you home."

-x-

**And that wraps up chapter three! The night is just getting started. Will Casey be able to go home like Gordon wants or will obstacles get in her way? Stay tuned!**

**Next chapter, Batman investigates Lacey Towers and infiltrates the GCPD. Perhaps a second meeting will occur?**

**Nevertheless, Batman and Casey haven't seen the last of each other.**

**Reviews, favorites, and follows are love. See ya in chapter four!**


	4. The GCPD

Lacey Towers was completely empty by the time Batman arrived. The two cops on the balcony outside were the only people left and he took care of them easily.

Inside the apartment the smell of burnt wood assaulted his nose. _Someone lit a fire,_ Batman noted. In the center of the room was a large burn mark on the floor and a body sprawled by the stairs with a tarp covering him. But he could still make out the iconic black mask the man wore.

The second body was a woman. She was dressed all in white with exception of the blood stain on her chest and strung up from a chandelier with ropes. Her sleeves hung down parodying the look of an angel in a twisted, macabre way.

_The police believe Penguin murdered Black Mask but why would he send me here if he was the killer? It doesn't add up._ He zoomed in on the outstretched hand of the male and scanned it for fingerprints. To no avail though, the fire damaged the fingerprints and made making an identification impossible. The police must've assumed him to be Roman Sionis because of the mask but Batman couldn't be sure without a DNA analysis.

He walked over to the female and scanned her prints. A string of drug trafficking reports came up and a name: Tiffany Ambrose, one of Sionis's girlfriends. But he had nothing to indicate her being the target._ She could been in the way or a means to get at Sionis..._

He turned to the burn mark on the floor and started to reconstruct the scene. An image of a Molotov cocktail shattering and reassembling itself appeared. By the male body, an image of a person threw the cocktail down on the floor. Perhaps in an effort to destroy evidence.

He went to the male victim and created a scene of the gunshot wound to the shoulder. An image of Penguin appeared as well, holding a gun. _The shallow trajectory of the bullet suggests the shooter could be someone of Penguin's height._ But where the bullet originated told him a different story.

There were grooves in the floor. Whoever shot the male had been leaning back in a chair.

The gunshot through Tiffany's chest came from a revolver, analysis revealed. The ballistics showed a low-angle trajectory, just at Penguin's standing height. But there was more gunpowder than there should have been if it was the Penguin. _Whoever shot Tiffany did it while laying on the ground._

He turned to the dusted fingerprints on the wall and scanned them. They were a perfect match to Oswald Cobblepot but the prints were on top of the soot. Penguin was in the apartment after the fire.

_The cops had one thing right, Penguin was here in this room. But only after the murders were committed. If he didn't kill Black Mask, who did...?_

He looked over the crime scene once more, thinking. _The only thing I can say for certain was that Tiffany's shooter was lying on the floor. But why?_

He caught sight of some white streaks on the floor, spared from the fire. He examined them quickly.

_White shoe polish. Whoever shot Tiffany had been dragged along the floor._

Now, there was a clearer image of the murder. Besides the victims, there were two other people in the room. Tiffany's shooter and whoever was dragging the shooter. But it wasn't enough to identify them. He went over to where the first shooter sat in the chair and analyzed.

_That's odd_, he thought. _The DNA here doesn't belong to either of the victims. Whose is it?_

There was an image of someone—the first shooter—sitting at a desk and another person sneaking in behind him through the now-broken window. The second person tackled the shooter and a fight ensued but he was unable to tell who won.

Luckily, he found a piece of torn cloth caught between the wood and broken glass. It must've ripped when the second person surprise attacked the shooter. _The intruder was wearing a white suit or sport jacket._ He could use that to identify the intruder but he still couldn't identify the male victim's shooter.

_One last impact place to check._ He could see the shallow crater on the counter above the common area where something heavy hit it. The DNA turned out to be Tiffany's but several days old according the level of oxidation. He didn't flinch as the crime scene images showed someone brutally slammed Tiffany's head into the wood.

_Hmm... She was holding onto something. Where is it?_ He reviewed the image of her attack and followed the red line to whatever she was holding. It had fallen among some clutter. He knelt down and dug around and pulled out a cell phone.

There was still some battery left and he went to her messages. The inbox was filled with text messages to Sionis. The recent ones sounded hysterical and frightened.

_'I swear he's been following me back here. Please send some guards. I don't want to be alone.'_ One read._ 'Or just come yourself.'_

He went to another. _'I saw him again. Please Roman, please get someone to kill this Joker person.'_

The Joker? He had never heard of anyone named the Joker in Gotham.

Nevertheless, he had an idea of what happened. Someone killed Black Mask judging by the male victim but the crime took place days ago. _And I saw Black Mask earlier tonight,_ Batman reminded himself.

_The only answers I have raise more questions: Who is the Joker? Was he the killer here? Or is he one of the assassins?_

_I have a body, an unknown shooter, and an unknown assailant who attacked the shooter._ But he didn't have an identification, save for Tiffany. He was at a dead end.But he still had one more option. _I need to match the DNA samples against the records in the National Criminal Database to identify who was the room._

Immediately, he opened his comm link to Alfred. "Alfred, I need access to the National Criminal Database."

"_Well, the only way to do that would be to infiltrate the Gotham City Police Department."_

"Then that's where I'm going." Already he was heading out the door.

"_Sir, you'd need to physically hack into their servers. If you insist on doing something that foolish you'll need a powerful nonlethal weapon,"_ Alfred said. _"I recommend coming back here to pick up your concussion detonator."_

"Not a bad idea."

-x-

"You_ saw_ him? You actually _saw_ him?" Barbara cried out in excitement.

Casey nodded. "Yup. Clear as day—er, night. Whatever."

"What'd he look like? What did he do?"

"Well, he was really tall and imposing. Like, if I were a criminal I'd definitely would not want to cross him. But he showed up at the courthouse and knocked Anarky around like he was nothing."

"That's awesome." Barbara breathed.

"It was pretty cool," Casey admitted. She had been within touching distance of the Batman. For a brief moment, she wondered if he was really muscular or the suit just added to his physique. He was probably ripped, judging how easily he knocked people around. _He is just like the ultimate fantasy: tall, dark, deep voice, and mysterious._

"Casey?" Barbara pulled Casey from her thoughts, waving a hand in her face. "You got a weird look on your face."

"Oh—nothing!" Casey flushed and looked away. _It's not like he's a guy you would take home to your mother,_ she scolded herself. Batman had better and more important things to do.

The moment Casey came back, an anxious Barbara ran up to her.

"Dad flipped when they got the tip about Anarky and you weren't here," she had said. "I wanted to go with but he wouldn't let me."

Casey turned back to her desk where the report waited for her. It was almost finished but she opted to talk with Barbara some more instead.

The teen was absolutely ecstatic to hear about Batman's appearance at the courthouse, much to her father's chagrin. But Gordon gave Casey a warning look and she tried to downplay the Batman's involvement.

Casey yawned for the umpteenth time. "I need some coffee," she announced.

Barbara furrowed her eyebrow. "Didn't you have like five cups already?"

Casey shrugged and stood up. "Adrenaline wears off and makes you feel more tired than you already are. I dunno."

"Is this what I have to look forward to when I become an adult?"

"That and taxes."

As Casey and Barbare neared the bullpen there was the sound of voices. Gordon was standing on the balcony overlooking the room, addressing several officers around him.

"What's this?" Casey murmured as she and Barbara came to a halt in the doorway.

"I know everyone's still in shock over what happened to Commissioner Loeb, but we need to stay focused on our primary targets for tonight," Gordon was saying. "So far Waylon Jones has been processed, Anarky's being processed right now, and we're following an anonymous tip on Deathstroke's location. But we've got a ways to go before sunrise."

"What's he talking about?" Casey asked Barbara.

But before Barbara could answer, Gordon did it for her. "There's eight assassins in town tonight. From the info we've been gathering, they are among the most dangerous criminals on record—period."

_Assassins?_ In _Gotham?_ She knew Gotham had a reputation for crime but this was ridiculous.

"After interrogating Waylon Jones, we've learned that they're all competing for a huge bounty which Black Mask has offered for the head of the Bat."

Casey's mouth dropped open. _No way. Black Mask couldn't have!_

But the others had different opinions. "Where do I sign up?" Someone asked jokingly.

"I thought he was a ghost." Another sneered.

Next to her, Barbara bristled with anger. Casey placed a hand on her shoulder.

Gordon didn't seem to think it was funny either. He gave them a withering look. "Alright cut the chatter, people. Our goal is to ensure order in this city. So our number one priority becomes bringing in the bat _before_ these assassins get to him. The closer it gets to morning, the more desperate the assassins will grow—and if he's still out there—the more damage they'll cause to the city, as they try to find or attract him. Alright, dismissed."

Casey could feel Barbara shaking with anger. "I think I don't need that coffee anymore," Casey and said and firmly directed Barbara back into the cyber division room.

"Did you hear him?" Barbara cried out in anger. "He tells them to catch Batman when they should be working with Batman to protect people and bring in these assassins!"

"I heard him," Casey said grimly. "But you gotta realize, Barb. Your father is head of the Vigilante Task Force. If he doesn't do his job, then Branden will have his head. He's already being watched and so're you." Barbara told her a couple weeks ago there've been cop cars outside her house, watching them.

"Then he should work with the Batman and take down Branden and SWAT."

"If it were than easy," said Casey.

Barbara whirled on Casey. "You agree with me don't you?" She asked aggressively.

"Of course I do. But I've got to keep it quiet. I work here and this is my job. At best they'll fire me. And at the worst they'll..." She trailed off. She didn't need to finish her sentence. Snowball's mutilated corpse flashed through her mind.

Barbara seemed to calm down. "I'll find a way," she said softly. "I swear. I'll find a way to fight them."

"Hacking their bank accounts and alerting the IRS seems to be a good way." Casey joked.

Barbara laughed. "Very funny, Casey. Tell me how the works out. I'm gonna go talk with my Dad again."

"Good luck." Casey said and went back to her computer. Truth be told, she managed to hack into Loeb's bank accounts two weeks ago. And she came so close to sending the copies she made to the IRS anonymously. But Loeb deserved more than five years in prison and she held back. Now Loeb was dead.

_I could link it to Black Mask._ Casey tried to convince herself. _He's been funding a lot of stuff illegally_. But hacking into Black Mask's bank account would be no small feat considering he owned the Merchants Bank. It would be a lot of accounts and numbers to sort through and following money trails to see where it led.

Her report still waited for her and she set to work. Without Barbara around, she finished quickly and printed it off.

_I should tell Ed I'll be taking off soon._ Casey decided as she took the report from the printer.

She walked over to Ed's office and knocked. No answer.

_Weird. Did he leave?_ She knocked again. No answer.

She tried the doorknob and found it unlocked. She poked her head into the room. "Ed?"

It was empty. Ed's office was completely immaculate, not a pen out of place and no personal papers in sight. His computer was off and his chair neatly pushed in. But no Ed.

"Huh." Casey exited and scratched her head in confusion. "Maybe he left?"

Pushing the emptiness of Ed's office to the back of her mind, she walked back to the bullpen to find Gordon and give him the report he wanted.

She found him chasing after Barbara who stomped past Casey. _Seems like they had their usual fight_, Casey guessed from the look of rage on Barbara's face and the exasperation on Gordon's.

"Captain Gordon." She tried to get his attention. "I have the report you wanted."

"Put it on my desk, I'll look at it later." Gordon didn't spare her a glance and continued chasing after his daughter.

-x-

Alfred stressed being cautious when infiltrating the GCPD but Batman took down the members of SWAT ruthlessly when he found them in his way. He didn't have time to find alternate routes. There were six remaining assassins waiting for him in Gotham. He had to deal with them, solve the crime at Lacey Towers, and apprehend both Black Mask and the Enigma character.

Batman did not have time to be gentle.

He entered another vent and stealthily made his way through. Ahead of him he heard voice—a man and a young girl.

"He's out there catching the criminals that you let walk free!" The girl was arguing.

For a second, he wondered if it was the woman from the courthouse. But the voices were too different. The current speaker sounded younger.

"He is the worst kind of criminal!" That voice he recognized: Jim Gordon. He made his way further down the vent until he saw an opening in the pipes. He was looking into Gordon's office. Gordon had his back to him but he could see the young girl he was talking to: vivid red hair and glasses and her arms were crossed and she looked angry.

"The kind who thinks their actions are justified—who acts completely outside the system!"

"The system is broken!" The girl nearly shouted at him. She looked to be on the verge of stomping her foot but she turned and stormed out the room.

"Barbara, wait!" Gordon shouted and went after her.

_Barbara_, he thought. He recalled Gordon had a daughter named Barbara. Strange night to bring his daughter to work.

As he was about to continue on, and break down another bar in his way, the office door opened.

It was the woman from the courthouse. Casey Wilson, he remembered. Now that she was out of her coat and ridiculous hat and in brighter light he got a better look at her.

Her hair was tousled as she had been running her hands through it and though she was pale, he could still make out a smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks. She yawned as she came closer and set some papers down on Gordon's desk. Up close, he could make out the faint dark circles under her eyes.

_She's a senior analyst in the cyber crimes division and doesn't take bribes._ The job must take a toll on her.

He turned to go when another voice stopped him. "Wilson."

In front of him, he saw her back stiffen as she turned towards the open door. "Branden," she replied evenly.

Howard Branden. Batman's fist clenched in distaste. Only minutes ago he heard him briefing his SWAT team on killing him to get the bounty Black Mask put on his head.

"I heard about the Anarky thing." Branden said, eying her.

_He's gauging her for a reaction. He sent her to Anarky hoping she would get killed. He's waiting to see if she'll accuse him of it._ He hoped she wouldn't. He didn't want to have to burst through the wall to stop him when he needed to get into the server room.

"Yeah, it was pretty lucky." Casey's voice was guarded. She wasn't biting at Branden's bait. "I almost thought we were going to let him slip through our fingers when SWAT didn't show but Batman came and did your job for you."

A faint smile formed on his face at her cheek. Across from her, he saw Branden's jaw tighten. No doubt her comment angered him but he also missed an opportunity to take the Batman down.

"Don't get cocky Wilson," Branden snapped at her. "Just because the Bat showed up to help you doesn't mean he will again." He scowled at her before turning his back and striding away.

After Branden left, she let out a long sigh. "That was close," she muttered to herself. "For a second I almost thought he'd... nah." And finally, she left the office and closed the door.

_Branden won't try his hand yet,_ Batman thought. _But if he gets Gordon out the way like those SWAT members were planning, then she'll be next._

By the time he climbed up above into an opening over the bullpen, he saw her disappear behind a door. _Good. I don't want her to get caught in the crossfire._ He descended on an unaware SWAT member, knocking him out.

-x-

Goosebumps broke out on the back of Casey's neck as she went back to her desk. She didn't like the way some officers were speaking to each other quietly. She wasn't an idiot. She caught some snippets of their conversations. SWAT was in on the bounty for Batman's head.

_Figures as much,_ she thought sullenly. _With Loeb gone, their safety net is dissolving. They're going to want to get the money so they can take off in case anything goes wrong._

And something did go wrong. As soon as she sat down at her desk, she felt a tremble and the police radio came to life. _"All units, there is a disturbance in the holding cells. Some sort of prisoner riot. Emergency protocols in effect."_

Casey groaned and ran for the door but it closed and locked before she could reach it. "Dammit."

The new emergency protocols shut every door and locked them with a passcode. And with Ed also managed to procure a new device to prevent anyone from wirelessly hacking the doors. Since Ed was the only one who knew the passcode for the cyber crime room, she was locked in until the emergency protocols lifted.

Knowing the GCPD, it could take forever until someone got the prisoners under control. And she wasn't willing to stick around for anyone to come by. "Guess I gotta hack it then." Casey rummaged through her drawers and pulled out a blue flashdrive.

Though the boxes stopped one from hacking passcodes wirelessly, they couldn't prevent manual hacking. She never tried hacking the doors before but she hoped it would work. She inserted the flashdrive into the locking device and waited for her program to start working. It was a simple program she made back in high school. If anything with a USB port was locked, the program on the drive would find the combination to unlock it in its system.

In a few minutes the word _CONUNDRUM_ appeared in the passcode box. Casey's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. _That's an interesting word choice for Ed..._ She tried not to think anything of it and slipped the flashdrive into her pocket and left the room.

The precinct didn't even look like it was on emergency lockdown. Everywhere was calm. The holding cells were underneath the building. But it didn't stop Casey from hurrying down the hallway.

Her first place to go would be the server room to see which protocols failed and if Barbara was there and make sure she was alright.

-x-

He had hoped he would've been able to get in and get out of the GCPD but corruption lurked at every corner. And, in an attempt to cast a bad light on Gordon, a prison riot occurred. SWAT was on full alert and he wasted too much time dealing with the prisoners.

But his efforts should be easier with the new disruptor he acquired in evidence.

The server room was just ahead and he pulled the disruptor out and fire the last shot at the box stopping the signal he needed. He crouched down, staying mindful of his surroundings, and searched for the password on his cryptographic sequencer. When the words "_AUTHORIZEDONLY" _came up on the screen the lock _clicked_ open.

He entered. Almost immediately he heard a gasp. The same red-haired girl yelling at Gordon stood up in surprise, holding onto a personal electronic device. "Easy," he said to her. He wouldn't hurt her. And judging by the argument she had with Gordon, she was behind the Batman's cause. "I need access to the National Criminal Database."

When she seemed to realized who was standing in front of her, she almost became giddy. She grinned and motioned to a server next to her. "It's right here."

He approached it, looking for a place he could hook up to. "You must spend a lot of time here," he said offhandedly. He found a port and placed his pwnbox in it and turned it on.

The girl examined it closely before speaking. "Cool pwnbox. You're bypassing the network's security." She kept going as trying to impress him. "But you'll need to physically bridge the intranet to the external telecom wires if you want to uplink remotely."

The pwnbox _beeped_ when finished and he took it and placed it back in his belt. He turned to the girl. "This kind of knowledge could get a young girl into a lot of trouble."

She merely smiled. "They run under the building."

_She doesn't care._ "What does?"

"The telecom wires. You can access them through the sewers."

Then the sewers were his next destination. He made to leave. "Wait," the girl said and he stopped and looked back to her. "Why... why do you do what you do?" She asked.

An image of a dead man and his wife in an alley and a little boy crying over them flashed through his mind. "Because I made a promise." He said simply.

"Barbara, there you are!" Casey Wilson entered the room. When her eyes fell on Batman's form, she stopped and her mouth opened in surprise. "Well that explains the emergency lockdown."

-x-

She couldn't believe it. She was seeing Batman for the second time in one night! "Well that explains the emergency lockdown," she said when she saw him.

Next to him, Barbara was smiling happily. "If you need help getting into the sewers Casey can—" She started but a _hissing_ noise made them all look down at the tear gas can rolling into the room.

"Get out of here!" Batman commanded as Barbara and Casey started coughing.

Barbara ran for Casey who grabbed her and pulled her out of the server room. They stumbled out of the room to the waiting group of armed SWAT.

"Hold your fire!" Someone ordered.

"You idiots. It's me! What were you thinking?" Barbara shouted angrily while Casey tried to expel the rest of the rest of the gas from her lungs.

"Who were you talking to in there?" The cop ignored her.

"She was talking to me!" Casey stood up, also glaring at them. "I went to the server room to see if any of the protocols failed and keep an eye on things! And since you gassed the room, I can't do my job!"

Some of them had the decency to look sheepish while the others just scowled. Casey scowled right back until another Detective Bullock came around the corner.

"Someone get some paramedics! Gordon and Branden are on the top floor out cold! The Bat must've gotten 'em!" He shouted.

"Is my dad okay?" Barbara asked, alarmed.

"He's just unconscious, it seems." He gestured to some of the men. "You, you, and you come with me. The rest of you work on getting this place up and running. It seems the Bat has left the building."

Barbara followed Bullock and his men to check on her dad. Casey turned to the remained SWAT members. "I need a gas mask." She told one. "So I can sort out the mess you guys made."

He grumbled but procured one for her. She slipped it on and went back inside the server room. Gas still lingered in the air and there was no sight of Batman but she spotted a broken vent in the corner. _So that's how he got out._

She busied herself with checking the servers and seeing about lifting protocols in certain areas of the building. She left the holding cells on lockdown until someone cleared it out. But she unlocked everywhere else that didn't seem like a problem.

She reemerged from the server room moments later and removed the mask. "There. The building's is partially running now until someone can sort the holding cells. Be sure to tell Captain Gordon and Lieutenant Branden when they're up," she told a SWAT member still waiting outside.

"Will do."

She turned back towards the server room. _What did Batman need in there?_ She wondered. _And why do I get the feeling this night is not over yet?_

-x-

Barbara didn't want to wait by her dad's side forever until he woke up so she retreated back to his office. She was sure he'd be happier to see in here when he woke up.

She sat down at his desk and pulled out her laptop. She had been going through the GCPD database again before the Batman showed up. If she was lucky, the signal he used would still be there. When she came across a particular report, she knew Batman would be able to help but she didn't know how she'd reach him. If she could get the signal back, she could hack into his comms and tell him her dilemma. She was sure he'd help.

Barbara never told Casey but she knew a lot of the things happening behind the scenes in the police department. She hacked the database almost regularly but stayed away from areas Casey had control of. Casey would recognize her work and even though Casey had the same views as Barbara, she wouldn't allow Barbara to get in too deep.

_There it is!_ Luck was still on her side and she found the anomaly signal. Hopefully Casey wouldn't notice it as she lifted the emergency protocols. She typed the information in her laptop and connected. _Please connect._ She begged silently. She needed the Batman's help.

The line opened.

_Yes!_ But what should she saw to the superhero whose comms she just hacked? "Hello?" She started. "Hello? Batman?" _Just go for it Barbara. Just go for it._ "It's Barbara. Sorry for, uh, hacking into your comms but I need a favor." She took a deep breath. "Some evidence crates have gone missing. Army-grade stuff and no one here's doing anything about it. So I'm sending you their GOS location information." She clicked _send_. "Use your weapon disruptor on any crates you find. It'll fry their circuits and render their stuff useless. ...Thanks."

She closed the link. She hoped he would do what she asked of him. He was the only one who could.

For as long as she could remember, criminals walked free and the GCPD abused their power over the average citizen. She watched as her dad's superiors walked all over him and even saw his former partner attack him. Since then, she had wanted to take a stand but how? How could a fifteen year old girl do anything against the corrupt men ruling the city?

Then the Batman came and things started to look up. Criminals whispered about a Bat hunting them at night and tread carefully. Loeb and Branden were more subdued. Barbara hoped her father would share her enthusiasm for the Batman but he shared the same view as his coworkers: Batman was a criminal as well.

But Batman would save them. She knew it. And she would help him in any way she could. She pulled up an image of the city. Six lights blinked back at her signaling the six weapons caches that went missing (but she'd bet anything Branden or Loeb sold them off.)

Barbara slouched back in her chair and waited.

-x-

**This chapter turned out to be longer than I expected. I added more of Barbara in than I intended. But I wanted to make sure this chapter would also be the start of Batman's and Barbara's teamwork which is why Barbara had a longer interaction with Batman than Casey did.**

**Now the hard part begins since more and more side quests are coming in. Some of which I forgot about. Whoops.**

**Next chapter, Gordon sends Casey home. Will she make it home safely or misfortune strike again? After all, those streets are not safe with gang members, SWAT, and now these assassins on the loose.**

**Reviews, favorites, and follows are love! See ya in chapter five!**


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